Cootapatamba Hut and Mt Townsend Day Trips
3-4 July 2010
I had planned to head down to Thredbo the last two weekends, but had puled out on each occassion due to laziness, and also not wanting to overdo it before we got some decent snow. Well the weather wasn't cooperating, i had new skis to try out and and i had a scare last week (i weighed myself and found i had put on about 5kg over the past 6 months - thats what happens when you office is one room from your bedroom and tv arena). Anyway Mirandah and I headed down early saturday morning. Had the obligatory bacon and egg sandwich stop at the Khancoban everything shop and then up to Thredbo by 9.00am. There was a bit of wind about but the tops looked clear. We geared up then caught the chairlift to the top of Eagles Nest. By the time we got up there cloud came in and visibility was down to about 100m. We decided to hang out at the eagles nest cafe to see what the weather would do. After a coffee it was around midday and we decided we should harden up, so we headed off into the mist and light snow. We followed the Karels lift line then straight lined it up to the Ramshead. Visibility was very poor the whole way but there were enough uncovered rocks for us to be able to maintain a course. When we hit the Ramshead the cloud lifted and we could finally see where we were and where we were going.
A smile on skis - so rare i had to take a photo of it!
Yours truely showing off the new gear.
After taking in the view for a while we skied across the top of the Ramsheads and then decided to ski down to Cootapatamba Hut. The snow cover was far from complete, but what was there was firm underneath and had a few centimetres of dusty stuff on top. This made for a pleasant but disjointed run down to the hut.
Gorilla in the mist - Mirandah skiing across the top of the Corrie.
Mirandah in front of Mt Kosciuszko.
Mirandah in front of Mt Kosciuszko.
Looking down to the Swampy Plains River from the top of our run.
There were two guys mucking around with Kites down at the hut. One guy on foot who looked like he was learning the ropes and another guy who kited his way up the kosi south ridge never to be seen again. We had lunch at the hut and then slogged it back up to the top of the Ramsead.
Cootapatamba Hut
Dibble practicing with a kite on foot. Looked like hard work.
Not such a good cover. Looking toward the Twin Humps from above Cootapatamba Hut.
When you skin up the hill with Mirandah you end up with lots of spare time to take photos.
By the time we reached the top it was nearly 4pm. We hung out up the top for a while and bumped into a guy who gave Mark a run for his money in the packing stakes. This guy had everything including climbing gear. We poled across the Ramshead flats then got a few good turns in down signature hill.
A kitchen sinker taking in the view of Mt Kosciuszko.
James taking in the view also.
By the time we were back at Thredbo the lifts had shut and the groomers had already groomed half of the supertrail for the flare run. This made for a sensational run back to the bottom of the hill. We had to dodge two wombats who were making their way across the slopes around the Snowgums midstation. A great end to a pleasant days skiing - even Mirandah enjoyed it! Actually i think it's the first time we have ever gone on a tour where there wasn't a hissy fit and some harsh words in return.
I was very impressed with the new dynafit setup. The 1.3kg weight saving per leg really makes it a whole lot easier to get up the hill. And the bindings are very functional. You can tell they have been designed by people that actually use the gear. They skied very well down the supertrail.
Finished the day off with a nice italian meal and a solid camp fire.
On Sunday morning Mirandah decided she had no heart and that she would sit the day out at Thredbo. I decided i would try and get out to Mt Townsend and back, more for fitness rather than skiing any runs. I got to the ticket office just before 9am and got stuck in a 15 minute queue. This had me flustered. When i got my ticket a rushed to the lift, clicked into the skis and got on. As i sat down onthe clair i realised i hadn't done the safety latch up on the bindings. For those of you that don't know, the dynafit binding features a latch on the toepiece. You pull the latch up to lock the toe pins in and you push the latch down to realease the toe pins. Anyway i thought i'd better do the latch up so i didn't lose a ski off the lift. In my haste to rectify the problem i forgot what i was doing and pushed the latch down, and ejected my ski off the lift to the grassy slope about 300m up the hill from the bottom lift station. Talk about embarassing. Had to do the download of shame. Then had to do the retreival walk of shame under the lift and of course someone on every third chair had a smartarse comment to make.
My ealry start ended up being 10am from the eagles nest. I got underway and made good progress on the new rig. Bumped into the guys with the kites half way out to kosi. Turns out it was none other than Dibble and he was the person we had watched learning the kite the day before. Had a chat and then got underway again.
Dibble and co playing with kites.
After bumping into Dibble i dropped down to Lake Cootapatamba and then skied up to Rawson Pass. Passed a nice little igloo on the way. I think the guy we saw at the Ramshead on saturday afternoon had built it. I didn't look inside but perhaps he did actually install a kitchen sink in it?
Igloo below kosi.
Made super time out to Mt Townsend. Didn't quite make it up Townsend but was content with the false summit on the eastern side. Got out there in 2hrs from eagles nest which is indicative of how much easier the light gear is to tour on. Got there just in time. Within 5 minutes of being there the view was clouded in. Luckily I got a few shots away before the cloud formed properly.
View to the VIC Alps through the Wilkinson Valley.
View of the western faces just before it was blocked by cloud.
The Sentinel, the Crags and Mt Jagungal.
Lunch with a view.
Had a bit to eat then trudged back up to the top of Kosi. From here i skied down the south ridge. I hit some really nice pockets of snow on the south ridge. Probably about 5cm of fluff on a firm base. Made for some nice turns.
Fog stayed in the valleys all day and made for a prick of a drive home.
Funky looking high cloud from Mt Kosciuszko.
The summit cairn - Mt Kosciuszko.
View north from Mt Kosciuszko.
Skinned up to the Ramsead then poled my way back to Thredbo. I was too ealry for the afternoon groomer so had to content with the chopped up supertrail. Downhill fitness is pretty bad. I had to stop about 5 times on the way down to get my legs back. Need a good dump so i can get some downhill fitness up in the resort.
Back at the car by 3.30pm which gave us time to get around to Scammels Spur Lookout just in time to see the colours at sunset. Very nice way to end a great weekend.
Last light on the western faces - Scammels Spur lookout.
Last light on the western faces - Scammels Spur lookout.